“I had no idea this would happen; I didn’t know what ‘going viral’ meant,” Hils told IE with a laugh.

The attention surprised the officers involved as well, who felt they were just doing their job, Nils said.

“(Nastold said) ‘I was just playing with a toy with him, trying to help him nap.’ He doesn’t feel deserving. But it’s just such a positive thing,” said Hils, who serves as the newly-elected president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, the city’s police union.

Police said the boy’s mother, 28-year-old Tanisha Caldwell, arrived at the police station about 5:30 a.m. to pick up her son.

She appeared to be intoxicated and allegedly admitted to drinking the night before, officials said.

Caldwell allegedly said the boy had gotten out of the home before. He had been found not far from his home, cops said.

He commended his officers, both of whom have been on the force for less than year, for their actions.

“They did go above and beyond,” he said. “I’m not surprised, because police officers nowadays are getting a very bad rap in the media… but in reality, this is more what the average police officer does; these are the types of things they’re doing every day.”

Hils agreed, saying: “This isn’t that uncommon. This is what cops do when they have the opportunity to reach out and help out an innocent kid. This is what they do.”